3030 Battlefield of the Mind Edition预览

Who Will You Believe?

How to Recognize the Truth from the Lies

The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV)

What I’m teaching today can very well change your life. It’s a lesson that changed mine years ago, and I’m not sure where I would be today if I hadn’t learned it. It’s this: Not every thought you have is your own.

You see, John 8:44 teaches us that Satan …is a liar and the father of lies. The enemy attempts over and over to get us to believe things that aren’t true. He comes against us by bombarding our minds with cleverly devised patterns of nagging thoughts that lead to suspicion, doubt, fear, and reasoning that refute the truth of God’s Word.

Even though they are lies, the enemy knows that if we believe they are true, then they become a reality for us and negatively affect us in so many ways.

Second Corinthians 10:4-5 says, The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (NKJV).

What is a stronghold? A stronghold is an area where the enemy entrenches himself and takes control. You have probably heard this term used when referring to soldiers fighting battles. Well, the Bible talks about strongholds in our mind. These are areas of our thinking dominated by the enemy—areas where we are deceived.

For years, I believed so many things that weren’t true, and they created a mess in my life. For instance, I remember thinking things like: Nobody cares about me or loves me…Nothing good is going to happen in my life, so I might as well not expect anything good…I’m always going to have a second-class life because I was abused by my father and I’m damaged goods.

I didn’t know I had an enemy, Satan, who wants to bring all kinds of negative thoughts to my mind. I didn’t know I have a choice to reject wrong thinking! The truth is, so many of God’s children are struggling because they are believing lies. Do any of these sound familiar?

“I’m really not that important—no one would even miss me if I wasn’t around.”

“This is too hard! I don’t think I can do this anymore. I should just give up.”

“My past is such a mess—no one is ever going to love me.”

When the enemy brings these thoughts, we don’t have to sit by passively and let him fill our minds with destructive thoughts. Instead, we can learn to recognize them, and with God’s help, think about something better.

I like to say that God’s Word is our “litmus test” for knowing what is true and false—a way to know the truth and expose the lies. That’s why it is so important to make His Word a priority in our lives—to take time each day to read the Word and even look up Scriptures that specifically apply to our situations. The more we know what the Bible says, the more we will enjoy freedom in every area.

Prayer: “God, thank You for the truth of Your Word. Help me to recognize the lies of the enemy and replace those wrong thoughts with Your Truth. Please renew the areas of my mind where I have gotten stuck into believing the wrong things. Help me to see You, myself, and my life in a whole new way. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Study Tip: Read the following Scriptures. What do they say about our enemy? What does God teach us about how to respond to Satan’s lies?

John 8:44; Matthew 4:1-11; 1 Peter 5:8; Genesis 3:1-6; Ephesians 6:11-18